Tire Recycling -- 20NMAC9.2
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: This Part is adopted under the authority of the Tire Recycling Act, NMSA 1978,
Section 74-11-5. [9-1-95]
Regulation Effective as of: 09/01/95
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NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT BOARD
P.O. Box 26110/1190 St. Francis Drive
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO 87503
TITLE 20 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
CHAPTER 9 SOLID WASTE
PART 2 TIRE RECYCLING
SUBPART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
101. ISSUING AGENCY: Environmental Improvement Board. [9-1-95]
102. SCOPE: Unless otherwise provided, this Part establishes the regulations
necessary for permitting and operating tire recycling facilities, defining and abating tire
dumps, storing scrap tires, and establishing eligibility criteria for the Tire Recycling
Fund. Except for sections 203.A.3. and 400., this Part does not apply to a tire recycling
facility having a valid Solid Waste Facility Permit or Registration as of the effective date
of this Part. [9-1-95]
103. STATUTORY AUTHORITY: This Part is adopted under the authority of the
Tire Recycling Act, NMSA 1978, Section 74-11-5. [9-1-95]
104. DURATION: Permanent. [9-1-95]
105. EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 1995 [9-1-95]
106. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this Part is to protect the health and welfare
of present and future citizens of New Mexico by providing for the prevention and
abatement of tire dumps and the promotion of environmentally sound methods for the
use and recycling of scrap tires. [9-1-95]
107. DEFINITIONS:
A. "abatement" means the removal of accumulations of whole or shredded
scrap tires; [9-1-95]
B. "Act" means the Tire Recycling Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 74-11-1
through 74-11-17; [9-1-95]
C . "agricultural" means all methods of production and management of
livestock, crops, vegetation and soil. This includes raising, harvesting and marketing,
as well as the activities of feeding, housing and maintaining animals such as cattle,
dairy cows, sheep, goats, hogs, horses and poultry; [9-1-95]
D. "alternative use" means to temporarily use a tire for something other
than its originally intended purpose in a manner that is environmentally safe and
approved by the Secretary and is not considered recycling; [9-1-95]
E. "Board" means the Environmental Improvement Board; [9-1-95]
F. "civil engineering application" means the use of scrap tires in lieu of
other materials (i.e., rock, sand, dirt, gravel) in engineering applications that are
environmentally safe and approved by the Secretary; [9-1-95]
G. "cooperative association" means a refuse disposal district created
pursuant to the Refuse Disposal Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 4-52-1 through 4-52-15
(Repl. Pamp. 1987) or a sanitation district created pursuant to the Water and Sanitation
District Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 73-21-1 through 73-21-55 (Repl. Pamp. 1987), a
special district created pursuant to the Special District Procedures Act, NMSA 1978,
Sections 4-53-1 through 4-53-11 (Repl. Pamp. 1987), a Solid Waste Authority created
pursuant to the Solid Waste Authority Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 74-10-1 through 74-
10-100, (Repl. Pamp. 1993), or other associations created pursuant to the Joint Powers
Agreements Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 11-1-1 through 11-1-7 (Repl. Pamp. 1994); [9-
1-95]
H. "Department" means the New Mexico Environment Department; [9-1-95]
I. "discard" means to deposit tires at a facility that will reuse or recycle the
tires, or store the tires for reuse or recycling; [9-1-95]
J. "dispose" means to deposit scrap tires into or on any land or water with
no intention of retrieval or reuse; [9-1-95]
K. "Fund" means the Tire Recycling Fund, created in the Tire Recycling Act,
NMSA 1978, Section 74-11-1 through 74-11-17; [9-1-95]
L. "modify" means to alter the terms or conditions of a permit or to change
the fundamental method of operation from that permitted, or to expand the physical
boundaries or operations beyond what was listed in the original permit; [9-1-95]
M. "municipality" means any incorporated city, town or village, whether
incorporated under general act, special act or special charter; [9-1-95]
N. "open burning" means the combustion of tires without control of
combustion air or containment of the combustion reaction in an enclosed device or a
lack of control of the emissions produced; [9-1-95]
O. "operator" means the person(s) responsible for the overall operation of
all or any portion of a tire recycling facility; [9-1-95]
P. "origin or origination" as it refers to tires, means the location where a
tire first becomes a scrap tire, such as but not limited to, retail tire stores; [9-1-95]
Q. "owner" means the person(s) who owns all or any portion of a tire
recycling facility; [9-1-95]
R. "PTE" (passenger tire equivalent) means a standard for quantifying the
total weight of a mix of passenger and truck tires without weighing them. A passenger/
light truck tire will equal one PTE (20 pounds) and a heavy truck tire will equal 5 PTEs,
(100 pounds); [9-1-95]
S. "person" means any individual or other legal entity, including
government entities; [9-1-95]
T. "process or reprocess" means any method of altering a scrap tire in a
manner that is environmentally safe and approved by the Secretary to facilitate storage,
transportation, recycling or disposal; [9-1-95]
U. "retread tire" means a tire casing to which new tread rubber, and
sometimes shoulder and sidewall rubber, has been vulcanized to extend the usable life;
[9-1-95]
V. "scrap tire" means a tire that is no longer suitable for its originally
intended purpose, which is to absorb shock and provide traction on a motor vehicle; or
is not usable as a casing in a retread tire because of wear, damage or defect; [9-1-95]
W. "scrap tire hauler" means a person who transports scrap tires; [9-1-95]
X. "Secretary" means the Secretary of the New Mexico Environment
Department or his or her designee; [9-1-95]
Y. "storing or storage" means to deposit or receive scrap tires for a
purpose other than a means of disposal; [9-1-95]
Z. "tire" means a continuous solid or pneumatic rubber covering that
encircles the wheel of a motor vehicle; [9-1-95]
AA. "tire dump" means an unauthorized location or facility where scrap tires
are disposed, but does not include tires that were buried prior to the adoption of this
Part and do not pose an environmental hazard; [9-1-95]
BB. "tire recycling" means a process or operation where scrap tires are
collected, stored, separated or reprocessed for reuse as a new product, or as a raw
material for a different product, or as a material in civil engineering applications, but not
as a raw material used as a fuel for combustion; [9-1-95]
CC. "tire recycling facility" means a place or operation maintained for tire
recycling, but does not include:
1. retail business premises where tires are sold, if no more than five
hundred scrap tires are kept on the premises at one time;
2. the premises of a tire retreading business, if no more than three
thousand scrap tires are kept on the premises at one time;
3. premises where tires are removed from motor vehicles in the
ordinary course of business, such as trucking and auto salvage, if no more than five
hundred scrap tires are kept on the premises at one time;
4. a site where no more than two hundred fifty scrap tires are stored
for construction or alternative uses for no more than one year;
5. a solid waste facility having a valid permit or registration, as of the
effective date of this Part, issued pursuant to the provisions of the Solid Waste Act or
registration issued pursuant to the Environmental Improvement Act; or
6. a site where tires are stored and used for agricultural purposes. [9-
1-95]
DD. "transformation" means incineration, pyrolysis, distillation, gasification,
or biological conversion other than composting; [9-1-95]
EE. "vectors" mean undesirable organisms that use scrap tires as a breeding
ground or nest, including, but not limited to, mosquitoes, rodents or snakes; [9-1-95]
and
FF. “vehicle or motor vehicle” means any self-propelled device, upon or by
which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway. [9-1-
95]
108. PROHIBITED ACTS: After October 1, 1995, no person shall:
A. operate or maintain a tire recycling facility unless the facility has a valid
tire recycling facility permit pursuant to the provisions of this Part, except that a facility
defined in section 107.CC.5 of this Part shall be able to operate provided that the
facility is in compliance with all substantive provisions of this Part; [9-1-95]
B. store scrap tires in a place other than a tire recycling facility, unless
specifically excluded in section 107.CC. or as otherwise authorized by this Part; [9-1-
95]
C. dispose of scrap tires in a place other than those places permitted or
regulated under the Solid Waste Act; [9-1-95]
D. discard scrap tires in a place other than a permitted or registered Solid
Waste Facility or a permitted Tire Recycling Facility, unless specifically excluded in
section 107.CC.; or [9-1-95]
E. engage in the open burning of tires. [9-1-95]
109. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER REGULATIONS: Compliance with this Part
does not relieve a person of the obligation to comply with other applicable local, state
and federal regulations. [9-1-95]
110. SAVINGS CLAUSE: This Part does not apply to pending litigation or affect
violations under other applicable local, state and federal regulations prior to the
effective date of this Part. [9-1-95]
111. SEVERABILITY: If any portion or application of this Part is held invalid by a
court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Part or its application to other
situations or persons, shall not be affected. [9-1-95]
"112. - 199. [Reserved]."
SUBPART II. TIRE RECYCLING FACILITY PERMITS
200. GENERAL PERMIT: A general permit is hereby granted to tire recycling
facilities not required to obtain a specific permit pursuant to provisions of this Part.
Registration of a general permit with the Department is required for a tire recycling
facility that:
A. processes or recycles more than 1,000 scrap tires or PTEs per year; [9-1-
95]
B. applies for or receives compensation from the Tire Recycling Fund; [9-1-
95]
C. stores more than 250 scrap tires at any one time; [9-1-95] or
D. uses more than 250 scrap tires in a single civil engineering application.
[9-1-95]
201. GENERAL PERMIT REGISTRATION: A registration of a general permit shall
include:
A. the name, address and phone number of the facility, applicant, operator,
property owner, and facility owner; [9-1-95]
B. the anticipated start up date, if applicable, and days and hours of
operation; [9-1-95]
C. a legal description and map of the facility site, including land use and
zoning of the adjoining area; [9-1-95]
D. a listing and description of the equipment to be used at the facility for
recycling or processing scrap tires; [9-1-95]
E. a narrative description of the operations or applications, that includes the
estimated number of PTEs or weight of whole or processed tires to be received, the
capacity of the facility, and the expected life of the facility; [9-1-95]
F. a plan for vector control and fire prevention and control for any stored
tires; [9-1-95]
G. for portable operations, the areas in the state that will be serviced; [9-1-
95]
H. for a scrap tire hauler:
1. the type of equipment to be used to handle and transport the scrap
tires; and
2. evidence of proper certification and licensing for both the drivers
and vehicles; [9-1-95] and
I. any other information requested by the Secretary. [9-1-95]
202. REGISTRATION OF OTHER OPERATIONS: Any operation not otherwise
permitted or specifically exempted by section 107.CC. of this Part that utilizes more
than 250 scrap tires for an alternative use or stores more than 250 scrap tires at any
one time shall:
A. request a general permit from the Secretary, and if approved, register that
permit with the Department pursuant to Sections 200 and 201 of this Part; [9-1-95] and
B. include the following additional information in their application for a
general permit:
1. the origin and the period of time they will be in storage, where
applicable; and
2. the anticipated application or use of the scrap tires and/or a final
disposal plan. [9-1-95]
203. SPECIFIC PERMITS:
A. A specific permit for a tire recycling facility is required, unless exempted
by this Part, for any proposed or existing tire recycling facility that:
1. processes or recycles more than 200 PTEs or 2 tons of scrap tires
per day averaged over a year;
2. the Secretary has determined there is the potential for endangering
the public health or environment; or
3. is due for renewal of a current permit that was issued under the
New Mexico Solid Waste Act. [9-1-95]
B. Permits for a transformation operation or facility that uses scrap tires in its
process, including energy recovery, shall be regulated under the provisions of local,
state and federal regulations. [9-1-95]
204. SPECIFIC PERMIT REQUIREMENTS: A specific permit application shall:
A. contain all information required by the applicable section(s) of this Part;
[9-1-95]
B. include one copy of the permit application at the time of initial submittal;
[9-1-95]
C. include four copies of the complete permit application at the time that the
initial application is deemed complete; [9-1-95]
D. include facility plans, elevations and drawings signed and sealed by a
professional engineer registered in New Mexico; [9-1-95] and
E. include a legal description and maps of the proposed facility site,
including land use and zoning of the adjoining area. [9-1-95]
205. SPECIFIC PERMIT APPLICATION: A specific permit application shall
contain:
A. the following general information:
1. the name, address and phone number of the facility, applicant,
operator, property owner, and facility owner;
2. the anticipated start up date of the facility and hours of operation;
3. the origin, if known, of the scrap tires to be processed;
4. a description of the facility, including the general process, size,
quantity and rate; and
5. any other information deemed applicable and requested by the
Secretary. [9-1-95]
B. the following operational information:
1. a list and description of the equipment to be used for handling,
processing, recycling, or disposing of scrap tires;
2. a narrative description of the operation including, the origin, the